Tributyl Phosphate Aggregation in the Presence of Metals: An Assessment Using Diffusion NMR Spectroscopy.

Diffusion nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy was used to find the interaggregate interactions and sizes of tributyl phosphate (TBP) aggregates containing varying concentrations of uranium or zirconium and HNO in an n-dodecane diluent. The average diffusion coefficients of TBP species were measured using a pulsed-field gradient stimulated echo experiment with a longitudinal eddy-current delay (STE-LED). Interaggregate interactions were determined by measuring the diffusion coefficient of TBP in a sample after a series of dilutions with n-dodecane.

Theoretical insights into covalency driven f element separations.

Through Density Function Theory (DFT) calculations, we set out to understand the structures and stabilities of the aqueous phase complexes [M(III)(DTPA)-H(2)O](2-) (M = Nd, Am) as well as the changes in Gibbs free energy for complexation in the gas phase and aqueous solution. All bonding analyses suggest that the preference of the DTPA(5-) ligand for Am over Nd is mainly due to electrostatic and covalent interactions from the oxygen atoms with the nitrogen chelates providing an additional, yet small, covalent interaction. These results question the exclusive use of hard and soft acids and bases (HSAB) concepts for the design of extracting reagents and suggest that hard-soft interactions may play more of a role in the separations process than previously thought.

Ionic liquid-based routes to conversion or reuse of recycled ammonium perchlorate.

New, potentially green, and efficient synthetic routes for the remediation and/or re-use of perchlorate-based energetic materials have been developed. Four simple organic imidazolium- and phosphonium-based perchlorate salts/ionic liquids have been synthesized by simple, inexpensive, and nonhazardous methods, using ammonium perchlorate as the perchlorate source. By appropriate choice of the cation, perchlorate can be incorporated into an ionic liquid which serves as its own electrolyte for the electrochemical reduction of the perchlorate anion, allowing for the regeneration of the chloride-based parent ionic liquid.

An intermediate for the clean synthesis of ionic liquids: isolation and crystal structure of 1,3-dimethylimidazolium hydrogen carbonate monohydrate.

1,3-Dimethylimidazolium-2-carboxylate and carbonic acid have been used to prepare a 1,3-dimethylimidazolium hydrogen carbonate salt by means of a Krapcho reaction. The ability to form hydrogen carbonate azolium salts allows for them to be used as precursors for fast, efficient, environmentally benign, and halide-free syntheses of many ionic liquids by a simple, acid-base reaction of virtually any acid (inorganic, organic, and organic noncarboxylic) with a pK(a) less than that of HCO(3) (-). Additionally, the kinetics of this reaction can be accelerated by employing catalytic amounts of DMSO (a traditional Krapcho solvent used in decarboxylation reactions) to catalyze the decarboxylation.

Interactions of 1-methylimidazole with UO2(CH3CO2)2 and UO2(NO3)2: structural, spectroscopic, and theoretical evidence for imidazole binding to the uranyl ion.

The first definitive high-resolution single-crystal X-ray structure for the coordination of the 1-methylimidazole (Meimid) ligand to UO2(Ac)2 (Ac = CH3CO2) is reported. The crystal structure evidence is confirmed by IR, Raman, and UV-vis spectroscopic data. Direct participation of the nitrogen atom of the Meimid ligand in binding to the uranium center is confirmed.

Extraction of cesium ions from aqueous solutions using calix[4]arene-bis(tert-octylbenzo-crown-6) in ionic liquids.

Solvent extraction of cesium ions from aqueous solution to hydrophobic ionic liquids without the introduction of an organophilic anion in the aqueous phase was demonstrated using calix[4]arene-bis(tert-octylbenzo-crown-6) (BOBCalixC6) as an extractant. The selectivity of this extraction process toward cesium ions and the use of a sacrificial cation exchanger (NaBPh(4)) to control loss of imidazolium cation to the aqueous solutions by ion exchange have been investigated.